Officials are refusing to accept unusual name we chose for our baby – so we are taking them to court

A COUPLE are taking French officials to court after they refused to accept the unique name they chose for their baby.

Kristina Desgres and Rodrigo Velasquez, from Saint-Malo, France, have been banned from naming their newborn Hades.

GettyA couple from France are taking officials to court after they rejected their choice of baby name (file photo)[/caption]

The parents decided on the name as they thought it sounded “pretty” – even though it’s the same name as the ancient Greek god of the dead.

Hades also means king of the underworld, the unseen one and commander of the realm of the dead.

But the couple claim they didn’t choose it for this reason.

Hades Velasquez Desgres was brought into the world in September 2022 – and the mum and dad were happy with their son’s name.

“We chose this name simply because we thought it was pretty, Hades Velasquez Desgres sounds good,” Kristina told a local paper.

But soon after they filed the necessary paperwork, the Saint-Malo public prosecutor informed them that their beloved name had been refused.

“Nobody makes the connection. In the maternity ward, it didn’t shock anyone. On the contrary, people like it,” the new mum argued.

In France, and in many other Western countries, authorities have the power to demand parents to change their babies names if they think it goes against the interests of the child.

And in this case, the public prosecutor deemed the negative meaning behind the mythical name inappropriate.

The parents expressed their confusion towards the decision and claimed the name Hades was not prejudicial to their son.

“We do not understand this decision, we didn’t call him Lucifer or Satan, we’re not stupid. We just wanted an original first name, which sounds good. When Rodrigo suggested ‘Hades’ to me, I immediately liked it,” Kristina said.

The mum and dad have now hired a lawyer to help them fight to keep their baby’s name and have pointed out that 12 other parents named their child Hades in 2020 without any opposition.

Kristina and Rodriguez have even reached out to the parents in an effort to prove that their kids are growing up without being mocked for their name.

“It’s an old first name which is not ridiculous and we really don’t see why the Saint-Malo public prosecutor’s office decided to sue while the other public prosecutor’s offices in France had no objection to this first name,” the couple’s lawyer said.

The decision on the case is expected on April 4, but the parents have already stated their intention to appeal if the court rules against them.

Since 1993 the choice of a baby’s name has been free in France unless it is decided that the name is contrary to the interests of the child.

Some banned names include Nutella, Fraise (meaning strawberry), and Daemon – but Hades doesn’t seem to be one of them.

AlamyHades means king of the underworld in Ancient Greek mythology[/caption]